Ex-Tyneside cricketer denies killing wife

FORMER Tyneside cricketer Warrington Phillip has denied killing his wife. The 39-year-old, who played as a professional at Blaydon, appeared in the High Court, in Nevis, West Indies, and pleaded not guilty to murder.

FORMER Tyneside cricketer Warrington Phillip has denied killing his wife.

The 39-year-old, who played as a professional at Blaydon, appeared in the High Court, in Nevis, West Indies, and pleaded not guilty to murder.

He is now awaiting trial accused of killing his wife, Shermel Williams-Phillip, who was found dead with her throat slit on February 16 last year.

Philip was arrested and charged with her murder four days later and has been remanded in prison awaiting his trial, which is expected to take place in November.

The sportsman, of Jessups Village, Nevis, denied the charge when he appeared before Justice Francis Bell on May 8. No evidence was put before the court during the hearing.

The cricketer played for Blaydon for a season in 2000 and during his time on Tyneside he lived in a rented house in Winlaton where he was visited by his wife.

Teammates in the North East were shocked by Phillip’s arrest.

They described the West-Indian all-rounder as an affable teammate who had enjoyed his time here.

Blaydon club chairman Ken Forster said the cricketer and his wife were friendly and there had been no sign of tension between them.

He said, after the player’s arrest: “Warrington was a decent player, but at the end of his year with us I told him I wouldn’t be renewing his contract.

“His wife came over halfway through his stay. She was a really pleasant woman.

“They were both friendly and settled into the lifestyle here.

“There were no signs of tension between them.”

Shermel, who worked as a hotel assistant manager, was discovered dead in her car with multiple wounds to her wrists, neck, face and other parts of her anatomy, outside her home in the city of Brown Hill, on the Caribbean island of Nevis.

The murder prompted major demonstrations in Charlestown, the capital of Nevis, from women who took to the streets in anti-domestic violence rallies.

Barbadian forensic pathologist Dr Stephen Jones reported that her death was due to haemorrhage and shock caused by stab wounds to the neck.